


Clear Blue Departure

by LilacChocolate



Series: Rin & Nitori [1]
Category: Free!
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Kissing, M/M, SeiGou - Freeform, makoharu - Freeform, reigisa - Freeform, rintori - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-18
Updated: 2016-06-18
Packaged: 2018-07-15 21:04:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7238428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LilacChocolate/pseuds/LilacChocolate
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rin is leaving for Toyko. Will Ai tell him how he feels before he leaves?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Clear Blue Departure

**Author's Note:**

  * For [iguana_ism](https://archiveofourown.org/users/iguana_ism/gifts).



I tried to keep calm as I walked with Rin to the pizza parlour across the road from Samezuka. My left hand rested on my bag and my right stayed in my pocket, ripping up the tissue inside it. Today was the day. I was finally going to tell my roommate how I felt about him. I’d been practicing for weeks on Rei, with Nagisa’s permission, of course, and it seemed simple enough. But then again, Rei was nowhere near as intimidating as Rin.

I risked a glance over at Rin as we walked. His hair was up in a ponytail, but several magenta hairs had escaped and curled around his face. His eyes no longer gleamed with anger like they had at the start of the year, and now held a much a gentler gaze when he spoke to me, but could still be fierce if he wanted them to be. When I felt myself blushing and my heart rate speeding up, I looked away from him and focussed on the pavement underneath my feet. I had been in love with Rin since September, and now, in June, I had fallen even harder for him in the months in between.

We reached the pizza parlour and Rin pushed open the door for me. ‘After you.’

‘Thank you, senpai.’ I stepped inside, trying to repress a shiver as his hand pressed against the small of my back, guiding me inside and up to the seating stand.

The waiter stood behind it looked up and smiled at us. ‘Reservation?’

‘In the name Matsuoka.’ Rin told him. The waiter nodded and led us through the restaurant until we got to the booths at the back, taking our usual one in the corner. He handed us the menus and took a box of matches out of his apron, immediately lighting the candle on the table before leaving to serve another table. Rin stared at him, his eyes narrowed.

‘What’s wrong, senpai?’

‘They only light the candles if it’s a date.’

I felt myself blushing and looked down at the table. ‘He was probably just presuming. Blow if out if it’s bothering you that much, senpai.’ He hummed and looked down at his menu, and I tried to hide back the smile as the candle stayed lit.

‘What are you ordering?’

‘Pepperoni pizza.’

He tutted and smirked at me. ‘Typical.’

‘Hey! It’s nice from here.’

‘You order that every time we come here. You’ll end up looking like a pepperoni pizza by the time that you graduate Samezuka.’ He smiled at me and I blushed, glad that the candle was lit so it threw shadows at my face. Rin closed his menu and propped an elbow up onto the table, resting his chin in his hand, studying my face intently.

‘What is it, senpai?’ I asked, ignoring the way that my heart was threatening to beat out of my chest.

‘You look really worried.’

‘Oh, well, ermmm…’ I looked away from him, fiddling with the hem of my t-shirt. ‘I have something important that I need to tell you.’

‘So do I.’

I looked back up at him, feeling less nervous now. ‘Well, you can go first, senpai.’

‘Remember that talent scout that spoke to me at the last tournament?’ I nodded. ‘Well, Haru and I have been asked to join the Japanese Olympic Swimming Team.’

‘Really?! Oh my god, that’s fantastic news, Rin! When did you find out?’

‘Two days ago. I wanted to wait until now to tell you.’

‘So that’s why you couldn’t stop grinning when you got off the phone the other day.’ Rin chuckled and looked down at the table. ‘When do you start training then?’

‘Two weeks from now.’ He paused and glanced up at me. ‘I have to move to Tokyo.’

The smile almost dropped right off my face. ‘Oh. Of course. I hadn’t thought of that. I suppose that’s where the team is based. But what about high school?’

‘Haru and I are being enrolled in a school in Tokyo for our third year. It’ll feel weird going to school with him again.’

‘Yeah. I’ll bet.’ I bit my lip, blinking a few times to get rid of the tears that had gathered in my eyes.

‘What was your news?’

‘My news? Oh, right…’ There was no way that I could confess to him now, not when he was moving to the other side of the country. ‘I- I can’t remember.’

Rin chuckled and I tried my best to smile at him. ‘You’ll remember eventually.’

The waiter came over, notepad out, and Rin ordered for both of us. I stared down at the table, trying my best to hold back my tears. This was everything that Rin had worked for, all that he had ever wanted. I wasn’t going to let my feelings for him get in the way of his dream.

...

The day before Rin left for Tokyo, we were sat in our dormitory, watching a film together for the last time. Rin had told me to stop being so emotional, that we would watch a film again together someday, but I just turned away from him, not wanting him to see the tears that were glistening in my eyes.

We sat side by side on Rin’s bed, all of his belongings stacked up by the door in boxes, ready to be driven down to Tokyo the following morning. His suitcase was by the side of his bed, still open, ready to pack his bed sheets and pyjamas in tomorrow morning. As I stared at the almost full suitcase, I remembered the conversation that I had with Nagisa the previous day.

‘Did you tell him yet, Ai-chan?’ I shook my head and he sighed. ‘You have to! Who knows how long it will be until you see him again?’

‘That’s the point.’ I told him, and he looked up from his bowl of strawberry ice cream.

‘What do you mean?’

‘Someone like me… I’m not the kind of person that Rin wants. It’s for the best that he goes to Tokyo without knowing how I feel, and get a beautiful girlfriend. He won’t even remember who I am by the time that he comes home.’

‘Ai-chan…’ Nagisa looked away from and shook his head, his ever-present smile fading. ‘You can’t do this to yourself. You have to tell him. You’ll regret it if you don’t.’

I just shrugged and continued to eat my ice cream.

‘Nitori?’ I looked up, Rin now sat in front of me, waving his hand in front of my face. ‘You kind of blanked out for a moment there.’

‘Sorry, senpai.’

‘It’s alright.’ He sat back beside me, his arm brushing against my shoulder. ‘Didn’t think you wanted to miss the film. Since it’s our last one…’

‘Yeah.’ I nodded and concentrated on Rin’s laptop screen, glad that I had a distraction to stop myself from thinking about our last film together. Halfway through, my head fell onto Rin’s shoulder and he chuckled.

‘You tired?’

‘A little.’

‘We can stop.’

‘No, I want to finish the film.’

He nodded and moved closer to me, wrapping an arm around my waist. I sighed and Rin leant his head against mine. His text alert went off and I shifted my eyes to where Rin’s phone was on the bed, Mikoshiba’s name lighting up the screen.

‘Senpai, Captain texted you.’

‘I’ll look at it later.’

‘It might be important.’ 

He sighed and reached for his phone, scowling as he read the message. ‘It’s nothing.’ He threw the phone back onto the mattress and tightened his grip on my waist, drawing circles with the pad of his thumb onto my skin. I tried not to sigh happily. There was no way Rin was doing this because he liked me. He had been doing it for the last several months whenever we watched a film together. This was normal Rin behaviour.

‘Ai?’

I lifted my head off his shoulder to look at him: he only ever called me by my first name if it was something serious. ‘Yes, senpai?’

He was staring down at me, red eyes reflecting the moon outside our window and his lips slightly parted. ‘I need to tell you something.’

‘What is it?’

‘I know that I’m leaving tomorrow but-’ My mobile rang and Rin looked away from me. ‘You should answer that.’

‘Yeah.’ I took my phone out of my pocket and answered it, wincing when Nagisa’s loud voice exploded down the line at me.

‘Ai-chan! Have you told him?!’

‘No. Do you think we could talk about this tomorrow?’

‘Why? Are you with him right now?’ Nagisa suddenly gasped. ‘Gosh, I’m so sorry! I forgot that you were watching your last ever film together tonight!’

‘It’s not our-’ I managed to catch myself before I said it out loud, which would make Rin realise that I was talking about him. ‘Like I said, we’ll talk tomorrow. Goodbye.’

‘Bye, Ai-chan!’ 

I hung up and put my phone on the bed, settling back into Rin’s side.

‘Was that Nagisa?’

‘Yeah.’

‘I think I might actually miss him when I’m in Tokyo.’

I smiled and looked up at him. ‘Will you miss me?’ I asked, biting my lip. Why did I have to ask him something like that?

‘Of course, I will.’ He smiled and turned back to his laptop screen. ‘Haru’s not going to run around after me calling me senpai, now is he?’

I lightly thumped his arm and he chuckled. ‘That was uncalled for, senpai, and you know it was.’

‘It really wasn’t.’

‘Am I really that annoying?’ I whispered, unsure of the answer that he would give.

‘You were at first. You’re not anymore, though. Come on, we’re missing the film.’

...

The day after, I stood outside of Samezuka Academy with the entire swimming team, as well Tachibana-senpai, Nagisa-kun, and Ryugazaki-kun. Nanase-senpai’s parents were sat in a car, waiting patiently by the side of the road to take their son and Rin to the airport whilst they said their goodbyes. I stood in between Nagisa-kun and Tachibana-senpai at the end of the line, holding back my tears as Rin and Nanase-senpai approached the three of us.

‘Tell him, Ai-chan.’ Nagisa told me in a whisper.

I shook my head. There was no way I could do that, not when Rin was mere minutes away from leaving.

Thankfully, Nagisa gave up pestering me when Nanase-san approached. ‘I’ll miss you, Haru-chan!’ He shrieked, throwing his arms around the older boy.

‘Drop the -chan.’ He told him, lightly patting Nagisa’s back. Nagisa let go of Nanase-san and the black-haired swimmer stood in front of me.

‘I don’t know you all that well, Nanase-senpai, but I wish you good luck with your training. And please look after Rin-senpai for me.’

‘I will. Look after yourself.’ Nanase-senpai glanced down the line at Rin, who was saying goodbye to Ryugazaki-kun, who was stood on the other side of Nagisa. ‘Rin would be upset if you didn’t.’

‘Okay, Nanase-senpai.’

He moved onto Makoto, and the olive-haired boy stood next to me already had tears in his eyes. ‘Haru.’

‘Makoto…’ Haru looked at the floor, then quickly wrapped his arms around his best friend. ‘I’m sorry for leaving.’

‘Don’t be. After this year, I’ll be at university in Tokyo. It’ll pass quickly, Haru-chan.’

Haru nodded into his chest then let go of him, looking up into his eyes. ‘I’ll still miss you.’

‘I’ll miss you too.’ They stared at each other, and for a few seconds, I thought they were going to kiss. Haru stepped away from him before they could and Makoto wiped his eyes, managing to smile at his best friend as Haru stepped over to the car.

‘Ai.’ I turned around and saw Rin stood in front of me, a small smile on his face.

‘Rin-senpai, please look after yourself in Tokyo whilst you train. I know how much this means to you, but please, don’t push yourself too hard.’

‘I won’t. Look after yourself too.’ He bit his lips before carrying on speaking. ‘I’ll go to Akihabara every month and buy you something manga related for every month that I’m away.’

‘You don’t need to do that.’ I told him. He just smirked. ‘I’ll miss you.’

‘I know.’ He ruffled my hair, not directly replying to my statement, but I knew that he would miss me too. 

Not caring what the rest of the team thought of me, I wrapped my arms around Rin’s waist and hugged him, burying my face in his t-shirt. To my surprise, he put his arms around me.

‘You better not be crying, Ai.’

‘I’m not.’ I looked up at him and managed a smile despite the tears that had gathered in my eyes.

For a moment, concern flashed in Rin’s red eyes. ‘Listen, Ai, I-’

‘Rin.’

We both looked up and saw Haru had opened the car door, waiting impatiently for the red-haired swimmer. ‘Right, sorry.’ Rin turned back to me and let go of me. ‘I’ll ring you when we arrive.’

I nodded and Rin quickly said goodbye to Tachibana-senpai before climbing in the car after Nanase-senpai. Nagisa grabbed my arm as he bawled. ‘Did you tell him?’ I shook my head and he cried harder. I looked at the car, able to see the outline of Rin in the back window of the car. The engine hadn’t started yet. I could still run to the car. Tell Rin how I felt. I shook my head. No. I couldn’t. The car engine started and everybody waved at the retreating vehicle. Once it was out of sight, the Samezuka team began to trudge back inside, their shoulders noticeably slumped.

‘Hey, Nitori,’ Tachibana-senpai tapped me on the shoulder and I turned to face him, watching as he wiped away the last of his tears, ‘we were planning on going swimming tomorrow. Did you want to come?’ 

‘Err… yeah, sure.’ I felt my shoulders shaking, just wanting to go inside now and cry myself to sleep. ‘I’ll text you to let you know what time I’m free.’ 

He nodded, the slight glint that was always present in his emerald eyes now gone. ‘See you tomorrow, then?’

‘Yeah, B-bye.’ I turned and walked as quickly as I could towards the residence building, ignoring the sounds of Nagisa’s bawling. As soon as I swiped my key card and opened the door, the first few tears began to fall. I ran up the stairs and along the corridor to my room, immediately unlocking it and grabbing my shark plushie from my bed, curling up with it on Rin’s mattress. Rin’s sheets were gone, but his scent still engulfed me, and my shoulders convulsed as the tears that I had been trying so hard to hold back finally fell. That was it. It was over. The man I loved was on his way to Tokyo to start a new life, far away from his annoying kohai. I cried harder, muffling my tears with the shark plushie.

I lay there, letting myself be surrounded by Rin for what seemed like hours, but what was only five minutes. Five minutes… They won’t even be at the airport. 

The door burst open, but I didn’t look up, presuming that Captain Mikoshiba had just come up to check on me. ‘Captain, I’m fine. Don’t worry-’

‘Ai.’

I sat up at the sound of Rin’s voice and saw that he was stood in the doorway, panting. ‘Senpai?! What are you doing?’

He ignored my question and came over to me, sitting down on the mattress and immediately wiping away my tears. ‘You’ve been crying, Ai…’

‘Rin-senpai, what are you doing here?’ I asked again and Rin removed his hands from my face.

‘I argued with Haru. He didn’t tell Makoto that he loved him before we left. He called me a hypocrite. We told his parents to turn around the car, but they were being too slow, so we got out and ran back.’

‘Why did Nanase-senpai call you a hypocrite?’

Rin smiled at me before wrapping an arm around my waist and leaning down to kiss me. As his lips touched mine I gasped softly, unable to believe what was actually happening. He pulled away before I had a chance to kiss him back. ‘I tried to tell you last night, but I couldn’t find the words. I love you, Nitori Aiichiro.’ Rin kissed me again and this time, I responded, throwing my shark plushie aside in favour of gripping Rin’s t-shirt, trying to get closer to him. ‘I’m sorry for not telling you sooner.’ He whispered against my lips.

‘It’s okay. I was supposed to tell you too when we went out for pizza. But after you told me about Tokyo… I couldn’t tell you. I was scared that you would forget about me when you moved away.’

Rin pulled away for a moment and caressed the side of my face. ‘Ai, I could never forget about you. I love you too much to forget about you.’

‘I love you too, Senpai.’

I kissed him and Rin pushed me down so I led on his bed, my fingers running through his hair and ghosting over the sensitive skin of his neck. He bit my lip lightly before trailing his hands down my torso, slipping his hands beneath my t-shirt and drawing patterns onto my skin with his nails. I moaned into his mouth and he kissed me harder, moving down to kiss my jaw and neck.

‘Senpai…’ I gripped his hair and he sucked on the skin at my neck, making me whimper, which was the exact moment that Nagisa-kun decided to bounce into the room.

‘Ai-chan! Rin Rin! You finally did it!’

‘Go away, Nagisa.’ Rin mumbled against my skin, and continued to suck, his sharp teeth grazing against my skin.

‘Anyway, I came to tell you that Haru-chan and Mako-chan are a little… preoccupied at the moment, so you have a while longer before you have to leave.’

Rin waved off Nagisa and bit down on the juncture between my neck and shoulder, which made me cry out loud.

'Senpai!' 

Rin growled and let go of the section of my skin that he had caught between his teeth. 'Rin. Call me Rin when I do this to you, Aiichiro.' He bit down again and I whimpered.

'Should I stay and watch this? I think I will.'

Rin pulled away from me, ready to tell Nagisa to go away, but Rei beat him to it. 'Nagisa-kun! Get out of there!'

'But-!'

'No buts!' 

The door slammed shut and Rin smirked at me, his red eyes filled with lust. 'I would give up my place on the Olympic swimming team for you.'

'Don't you dare. You've worked too hard not to- mhpff...' Rin silenced me with a kiss, cradling the back of my head in the palm of his hand as he moved his lips between mine, not once relenting even when I tried to push him away from lack of air. Once I felt like I was going to pass out, I managed to get away from him, panting hard. 'I can't hold my breath as long as you can, senpai!' I laughed, looking up in worry when Rin didn't laugh too. He had tears in his wide red eyes and his brow was slightly furrowed. I had seen him upset before, but he usually just shouted and swore in English before telling me that he was going on a jog. I had never seen him on the verge of tears before, not even when he had fallen out with the Iwatobi team. 'Rin?'

'I almost left without telling you.'

'You would have been back for Christmas. You could have told me then. Or you could have rung and told me, or skyped me.'

He looked away from me, his eyes averting to the floor. 'But what if there had been someone else? Someone who actually treated you well.'

'You don't treat me well? Are you joking?' Rin looked back at me, confused by my sarcastic tone. 'I know you call me an idiot a lot, but you do lots of little things for me that make you wonderful. You go out and buy milk when our supply in the fridge gets low, then always buy me fizzy drinks along with it even though you hate them. Whenever I go home to visit my family, I always leave the room a complete and utter mess, but you've always tidied everything up by the time I'm back, and don’t complain when I mess it up again two days later. And don't think that I don't know how boring you find Tuesday night's when you help me with my English homework. I don't mind it when you call me an idiot because I know that you never mean it.' I kissed his cheek, wrapping my arms around his neck. 'From the moment that I met you, there hasn't been anyone else. Even before I knew you, there hadn't been anyone else. I love you, Rin. You're the only person that I've ever been in love with.'

A few tears rolled down Rin's cheeks and I wiped them away, taking the time to admire how his eyes shone and how soft his skin felt under my fingers.

'I don't deserve you, Ai. I promise that I will spend forever trying to make myself a better person just so I can be worthy of you.'

'Don't change. I love you how you are. With your shark teeth, competitive streak, obsession for Australian food and Sailor Moon.'

Rin smiled and he hugged me, lying down on the bed with me cuddled against his chest. 'But if you seriously tell anyone about my obsession with Sailor Moon, I will kill you.'

'It's an anime and manga for children, senpai. You're seventeen!'

'So? Tsukino Usagi is the defender of love and justice and I for one would stand by her side any day of the week.'

'I know.'

Rin sat up suddenly, looking more distressed than he had done when he had barged in here five minutes ago. 'We never discussed how we'll be able to watch Sailor Moon Crystal together when I’m away!'

'We'll figure something out.' I tugged on his arm and he led back down, immediately bringing me into his arms.

...

Captain Mikoshiba knocked on the door half an hour later, and I quietly shouted for him to come in. He entered, smiling softly when he saw that Ai had fallen asleep in my arms.  
'Is he alright?' Mikoshiba asked as he sat down on Ai's desk chair.

'He will be.'

'And what about you?'

'Better now that I know he loves me too.'

Mikoshiba shook his head. 'You should have told him months ago.'

I glared at my captain. I had fallen for Ai shortly after Valentine's Day, and Mikoshiba had guessed almost straight away about my feelings. He kept it a secret but was always encouraging me to tell the grey-haired boy who he was sure reciprocated my feelings. Even last night, when I watched a film with Ai, Mikoshiba had texted me from across the hall, telling me to do it.

'Yeah, I know.'

'So, how are you going to stay together whilst you're in Tokyo?'

'The same way you'll stay together with Gou.'

The Captain smiled at the mention of my sister. 'I only live an hours train ride away from Gou. You'll be at the other side of the country.'

I sighed and looked down at Ai, moving a few strands of grey hair out of his eyes. 'I don't really know. But I won't let us drift apart. I love him too much.'

'Good answer.' He stood up, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his jeans. 'Anyway, Nanase's parents are sat downstairs in the canteen with Hazuki-kun and Ryugazaki-kun. They said that you need to set off in fifteen minutes or you really will miss your flight.'

'Okay. Where are Haru and Makoto?'

Mikoshiba blushed. 'They're in my room. They ermmm... well, let's just say I'm glad that I'm graduating tomorrow.'

I rolled my eyes. 'Brilliant. Tell Haru's parents that I'll be down there soon.' Mikoshiba nodded and left the room, and once the door had closed, I looked down at Ai. I didn't want to wake him yet, not when he looked so beautiful in his sleep, but if I didn't, I wouldn't be able to say goodbye to him properly. 'Ai.' I shook his shoulder until his eyelids fluttered open, revealing the clear blue pupils underneath.

'Senpai?'

'It's time for me to go.'

He nodded and sat up in my arms. ‘I’ll miss you, senpai.’

‘I’ll miss you, too. I’ll text you when I get to the airport. And when I arrive in Tokyo. And when I’ve got to my apartment. And-’

Ai shut me up with a kiss, and I smiled against his lips. ‘Come on.’ He said when I pulled away from him. He took my hand in his and we left our dorm room, beginning to make our way down the corridor and outside.

‘Will you be alright without me?’

‘No. I won’t. But I’ll be better now that I know that you love me.’

I smiled at him and we continued to walk together, a comfortable silence settling between us. We went outside and found the Nanase’s car, Haru’s parents already inside it as their son made out with Makoto on the pavement.

Mikoshiba, Rei, and Nagisa all stood a couple of metres away from them, Rei looking disgusted, Mikoshiba simply watching with raised eyebrows and Nagisa squealing at the sight. ‘Aren’t they cute together?!’

‘It’s not beautiful.’

‘If you say so, Hazuki-kun.’

‘Aw, come on, Sei-chan! It’s adorable!’ Nagisa turned to us and squealed even louder. ‘Ai-chan! Rin Rin!’

I nodded to Nagisa and turned to Ai who was at my side, tears gathering in his eyes once again. ‘Don’t cry.’

‘I can’t help it. I love you too much not to.’

I smiled and caressed the side of his face; would I ever get tired of hearing him say that? ‘I love you too.’ I kissed him, ignoring the squeals that were emitting from Nagisa. When I pulled away, I rested my forehead against his, hands on his waist. ‘I’ll ring you when we get to the airport. And as soon as we get the internet set up, I’ll Skype you, so you better not be doing anything tonight.’

‘The only thing that I’ll be doing tonight is missing you.’

My face broke out into a grin and I kissed him one last time. ‘See you later, Ai.’

‘See you, senpai.’ 

I let go of my boyfriend and turned to Haru, who was still kissing Makoto. ‘Oi, Haru.’ The black-haired swimmer didn’t respond. ‘Haruka!’ Makoto pulled away from Haru, opening his mouth to speak, but Haru grabbed his neck, bringing his lips back down to meet his. He lightly pecked Makoto’s lips then turned to look at me.

‘What?’

‘We kind of need to get to Tokyo.’

Haru ignored me and turned back to Makoto, their eyes meeting for several seconds before Makoto grinned. ‘I love you too, Haru-chan. I’ll ring you later.’ They kissed one last time and Haru walked over to the car, a slight limp present in his legs that wasn’t there earlier.

‘Bye, Haru-chan! Bye, Rin Rin!’ 

I turned around and smiled at Nagisa, then looked at Ai, who had started to cry. ‘I’ll be back at Christmas.’

‘I know.’ His voice shook but he smiled at me still. ‘Now, go. You’ll miss your flight.’

Unable to help myself, I ran back over to him and stole one more kiss from his lips. ‘I’ll be going now.’ He nodded and I climbed in the car, buckling in next to Haru.

‘You two finally finished?’ Asked Haru’s father.

‘Yes. My apologies, Nanase-san.’

He just shook his head, a small smile on his face, and started the engine. He drove off, and both Haru and I turned around, seeing our friends run after us down the road, waving. At the head of the group, surprisingly, was Ai, sprinting as fast as his little legs could carry him. I smiled and waved back, his clear blue eyes the last thing I saw before Nanase-san turned the corner.

It was definitely a clear blue departure.

**Author's Note:**

> http://lilacchocolate.tumblr.com/


End file.
